Katy High football jumped three spots to No. 7 in the Class 6A state rankings after rolling past Dickinson 42-24 on Friday, Sept. 4.

The Week 3 poll from Dave Campbell's Texas Football, distributed by The Associated Press and released Tuesday, Sept. 8, marks the Tigers' highest ranking of the young season. Katy opened at No. 14 in the preseason poll and climbed to No. 10 after a 28-17 Week 1 win over Humble Atascocita on Saturday, Aug. 29.

The climb has been steep.

The 2-0 start puts the Tigers among four Houston-area teams in the Class 6A top 10. Galena Park North Shore sits at No. 2, Fort Bend Ridge Point at No. 8 and Cypress Ranch at No. 9. Dickinson, which had been ranked No. 13, dropped out of the poll entirely after the loss to Katy.

Head coach Gary Joseph, who has led the program for 44 years and captured five state championships, entered the season with 286 career victories. He needs 14 wins to reach 300, a mark that would put him behind only Lamar's Tom Nolen (307) in Houston-area history.

Joseph's program owns 659 all-time wins, the most among current Houston-area Class 6A programs and 46th in state history. The Tigers have also posted 35 consecutive winning seasons dating to 1991, the longest active streak in the Houston area.

"I can't wait to see how our players and coaches rise to match or exceed the reputation and traditions of Katy High School," Joseph said in Katy ISD's Aug. 31 fall sports preview, days before the season opened.

Two Tigers earned spots on the Touchdown Club of Houston's preseason All-Greater Houston team: offensive lineman Isaac Coughran and linebacker Cade Haug.

Katy carries a 41-game district winning streak into Thursday's opener against Tompkins. The last time the Tigers lost a district game was in 2020, to a Tompkins squad led by now-NFL quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Katy hosts the Falcons on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. in the District 19-6A opener for both teams.